Sugar Pine Trail

Haven Point, #7

Ray Anne Thayne

HQN, Oct 2017

Kindle, 352 Pages

Also available in hardcover, paperback,

audiobook, audio CD

Genre(s) Very sweet romance, family story, womens lit,

Source purchased at current price

Other books in this series

Serenity Harbor #1, Snowfall on Haven Point #2, Riverbend Road #3, Evergreen Springs #4, Redemption Bay #5, Snow Angel Cove #6

My Disclaimer:

I purchased a copy of this book at the current price. I am voluntarily providing an honest review in which all opinions are fully my own. I am not being compensated in any way.

~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review

What it’s about…

Julia Winston is the head librarian. She’s the only child(adopted late in life) of two only children. She doesn’t know how to play, but she does know how to dream…

Jamie Caine is a former military pilot now using his flying skills to make lots of money flying family and friends here and there. He has his own business and has just bought a new condo, but it’s not finished, yet. So, he’s renting the upstairs apartment from Miss Winston…

Clint and Davy are two young boys who need taking care of because their father is dead and their mother has gone missing. They’ve been going to school and hanging out in the library because it’s warm there. Miss Winston calls her friend at Child Protective Services to see what can be done for the boys.

See what happens when one sexy pilot, one shy spinster, three aging cats, and two little boys all move into the house on Sugar Pine Trail just before Christmas.

Technical Tidbits…

The cover is delightful! That lovely blue and the house all sparkling with Christmas lights and sparkling with snow is absolutely wonderful!

The story line is great. There was a twist at the end that I really didn’t expect, but it all turned out alright.

The characters were introduced with enough information to get you started and then as things went along, you got to know them much better. You really came to care about what was happening to them.

The pace was perfect. Not too fast, but it moved along.

The tension was less in the beginning but really picked up towards the end!

And this is where you STOP if you don’t want to see any SPOILERS…

 

The good, the bad, and the ugly…and how much it lit up my life… ✰✰✰✰✰

This was the sweetest romance I’ve read in quite a while. They courted each other across the heads of a 6 and an 8 year old boy. The boys were so cute, because they were pretty savvy about what was going on. Miss Winston was the most innocent one involved. She calls herself a spinster, but that’s because that’s how she thinks of herself. That’s how she dresses. That’s how she acts. That’s what her parents had made her. They’d adopted her late in life and then kept her by them when they were both ill and then died. So she didn’t know anything about being young and carefree.

One thing her parents had taught her apparently is to help people. And Julia does it very cheerfully. She doesn’t resent helping people. Julia is constantly baking for other people, especially at Christmas for all her neighbors. And when the boys were in need, she didn’t hesitate to do what she thought was the right thing. And when that didn’t work out well, she stepped up and took them into her own home. She changed the way she lived to accommodate two little boys. She gave them a home and structure they could rely on and trust. She gave them love that made them feel safe and secure. They gave her their trust and love and taught her how to play like a child.

Jamie Caine had had too many big hurts in his life and was just trying to keep busy and keep people at a distance so he wouldn’t get hurt anymore. He felt that living life on his own would do him just fine. Unfortunately for his plans, he couldn’t resist his temporary landlady. She was so sweet and innocent. And he liked her lips and her legs and her hips and … well, you get the idea. The more he looked, the more he found he liked about his oddball landlady. She gave unstintingly to everyone. She was hurt that her mother’s cats didn’t like her. She loved those two little boys. And she had a crush on him. She doesn’t understand jokes. But she does know how to dream.

Aunt Suzi was the twist I hadn’t foreseen. That threw me for a loop. That and the aftermath. But it really made all that happiness before seem even better. To bring it all down like that. It seemed like a bit of a strange ending though. But a really great, sweet read up until then.

Highly Recommended

832 wc